Designing an annual report with chemistry

Tristel develops inventive high-level disinfection products for the healthcare sector. Listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM in 2005, the company is held in high esteem and takes its shareholders responsibilities very seriously. That's why it’s imperative that Tristel’s Annual Report and Accounts reflects its professional and innovative approach to its business.

Silk Pearce has a long-standing relationship with Tristel that spans 20 years. With this comes an understanding of how the business has developed over time and the ethos behind the brand. The design thinking for the Report and Accounts was based on capturing the company’s inventiveness in its chemistry formulations and its forward-thinking approach to product development.

The design for the Report & Accounts is based on a continuum approach changing every three years – with three consecutive reports based on one stylistic design concept. The set for 2016-2018 has a clear focus on typography, which is evident in the three cover designs. Without the addition of imagery, the typography, colour and paper play a vital role, while the debossing and printing techniques add an important tactile appeal. The overall design is direct and confident; simple without being simplistic.

The set of three covers play on key words that link to the values of the company. ‘The most important thing is to keep the most important thing, the most important thing’, ‘We have chemistry’ and ‘Follow the device’. The latest report, 'Follow the device', relates to Tristel’s ability to develop new devices that deliver its patented disinfectant chemistry in innovative ways, while also making a reference to the fluorescent printing.

Colour challenge

A particular challenge was determining the fluorescent inks for the most recent report. Following an expensive print quote for CMYK plus two spot colours, we worked out a feasible solution. We came up with a way to use four colours by replacing magenta with fluorescent orange and yellow with fluorescent lime, while still printing black and cyan. Although the orange lacked the blue tones that were in the magenta, this was counteracted by the addition of the lime, as it contains more blue than the yellow it had replaced.

The hardest task was matching a printed grey to the grey cover paper when we were only able to use black, cyan and the two fluorescent colours.

Checking colour accuracy

It was a complicated process to get the colour process correct, so we organised a wet proof. Although rarely used in this digital age, we felt the wet proof would give us a true reflection of the end colour result before we went to print. We prepared a scatter wet proof, containing different design elements incorporated within the report, which would allow us to review how the colours would appear throughout the report. It was a worthwhile process as we were able to add extra cyan to the fluorescent green to make it more legible.

Choosing the paper

Paper choice played a major part in the covers of the latest reports, with colour blocking used on each to add contrast. White and a green shimmer were chosen for the first two covers, while a subtle grey (Colorplan Real Grey Fabric 270g) was selected for the most recent report, which works alongside and complements the fluorescent text.

To find out how Silk Pearce can help your business, call us on +44 (0)1206 871001. Or discover our other work for Tristel.